In order
to facilitate this process of deciphering these texts (and help you review),
I’ve color coded my transliteration --> blue indicates roots that appear in the verb
glossary [17] and are either in a verbal [10, 14 – 16], nominal [5] or
adjectival [19] form; orange indicates
prepositions [9] and yellow indicates important prefixes
and suffixes: the construct state [8], the accusative marker [11], possession
[12] and the medio-passive ta-prefix [21]. What’s left are, for the most part,
easily recognizable cognates and proper nouns. I’ve glossed a few important
terms below each text. Good luck!

May 7, 2012

21.1: Most
active verbs assume the passive voice when the prefix <<ተ>> (ta-) is added to them. This prefix also sometimes produces a
reflexive or a reciprocal meaning. The ta-prefix be added to any of the
four types of verbs, making Bt, Dt, Lt and Qt.

ACTIVE

PASSIVE

B

ሐነጸ

to build

Bt

ተሐንጸ

to be built

ገብረ

to do

ተገብረ

to be done

to be made

ረከበ

to find

ተረክበ

to be found

to exist

ነገረ

to speak

ተነግረ

to be said

to be proclaimed

ወሀበ

to give

ተውህበ

to be given

Note that
oftentimes, in Bt, the medial vowel disappears, so: ሰገደ (sagada – he
worshipped) becomes ተሰግደ (tasagda – he was worshipped.) Also, not every Bt, Dt, Lt and Qt form verb
has a corresponding “active” form.

ACTIVE

PASSIVE

D

ገሠጸ

to instruct

Dt

ተገሠጸ

to be admonished

ፈነወ

to send

ተፈነወ

to be sent

ፈወሰ

To cure

ተፈወሰ

to be healed

L

ሣቀየ

to torment

Lt

ተሣቀየ

to suffer

ባረከ

to bless

ተባረከ

to receive benediction

ቤዘወ

to redeem

ተቤዘወ

to be redeemed

Q

ተርጐመ

to translate

Qt

ተተርጐመ

to be translated

to be interpreted

21.2: Dt
verbs, especially those derived from stative verbs, can also have the meaning
of “to show / regard oneself as something”, so:

The Learner // ተመሃሪ // Tamahāri

I came across the rich Classical Ethiopic corpus in the course of my doctoral research and was immediately taken with Ge'ez language. There are very few resources on the language and this blog is a step to remedy that by providing an easier entry-point for other Ge'ez-aficionados! I hope you find it helpful in your work and I invite your corrections and suggestions for improvement.